“Not A Medical Emergency And Not Related To Covid-19,” NASA Says

The upcoming Crew-3 launch has been postponed once again, with NASA citing a minor medical issue with an unspecified astronaut.

The flight was to take place aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon launched from their Falcon 9 rocket on October 31, when it was postponed citing a large storm system. The issue now, NASA affirmed in a statement, is not related to Covid-19, nor any serious medical problem that would preclude the launch in the near future. The astronaut crew will remain in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center until the mission begins. 

The launch is now scheduled for November 6, 2021 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. SpaceX has taken point as the premier launch systems operator, with their Crew Dragon serving faithfully in 27 visits to the ISS across 30 launches. Under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, three crew rotations have been completed. 

Crew-3, once at the ISS, will replace four Crew-2 astronauts, including Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, who have been aboard the station since April 2021. Crew-3 will spend 6 months aboard, completing research and monitoring while on the station. Experiments slated for completion include plant growth in space without soil or growth media, as well as the construction of optical fibers in microgravity. If successful, the fibers will have higher quality than terrestrial construction, providing another economic incentive for commercialization of orbital stations like the recently-announced StarLab. 

Dates and launch expectations are still tentative, NASA says. Dates for Crew-2’s return are still being evaluated, and developing weather will always prove to be a wildcard when planning space launches.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.spacex.com